Abatement

Abatement

Abatement

Austin city officials are expected to recommend the rollout of a large-scale graffiti abatement program to City Council in September 2017, which will likely include a package of penalties intended to deter and prevent graffiti vandalism. Currently, Austin Public Health runs its own graffiti abatement program as part of the Austin Youth Development Program, which employs at-risk youth and gives them the opportunity to develop career-oriented skills. This new graffiti abatement effort comes as a result of an increase in tagging on city-owned property. City Council Member Leslie Pool and Interim Assistant City Manager Sara Hensley explain that the current program doesn’t have enough resources to keep up with the escalation in tagging. Their vision is to come up with a larger-scale program that engages the community in removing graffiti and educates them about the differences between graffiti vandalism and graffiti art. In a city that considers art one of its cornerstones, this proposed abatement program appears to be clearly making the distinction between legal street art done with permission and the unauthorized, illegal acts of tagging.

The Westchester Parks Foundation (WPF), a nonprofit organization that advocates for Westchester County parks, trails, and open spaces, announced that Thalle Industries has agreed to sponsor its anti-graffiti volunteer program called “Graffiti Squad.” The Graffiti Squad was formed by WPF in 2016 in an effort to remove graffiti at various county parks. As part of the sponsorship, Thalle Industries has agreed to donate $40,000 to the organization to help support its graffiti cleanup efforts. The Graffiti Squad kicked off its 2017 campaign earlier this month by removing vandalism at the Bronx River Reservation walkway bridge at Hamilton Avenue in White Plains. They applied an eco-friendly coating to the surface that will allow any future graffiti to be wiped away. This effort exemplifies how important it is for cities and companies to work together to help combat graffiti vandalism.

In Easthampton, volunteers pressure washed Mount Tom, which had racist and vulgar graffiti on it. The rock underneath remained untouched. The company that removed the graffiti, the World’s Best Graffiti Removers, specializes in “green” removal methods. The volunteers were able to fund the clean up through GoFundMe.

In Troy, New York, the city’s Graffiti Busters have been cleaning up graffiti in order to address the spike in graffiti vandalism. The Graffiti Busters are helping residents wash off graffiti on homes and businesses and provides free consultations. The supplies were purchased with grant money from the Troy City Council.

In Troy, New York, neighborhood activists called Graffiti Busters volunteer to remove graffiti. Graffiti Busters is funded by a neighborhood improvement grant from the Troy City Council with the mission of beautifying neighborhoods. Property owners can request a free evaluation and Graffiti Busters removes the graffiti for them using removal kits.

July 23, 2016, 200 volunteers cleaned up graffiti and litter in Denver as part of Denver’s 7th Annual Graffiti Brush Off. The community members were joined by the Denver Public Works department and the Denver Partners Against Graffiti to cover up graffiti. Already this year, the city has responded to 6,500 incidents and covered up 860,000 square feet of graffiti in Denver. Denver spends $1.4 million annually to clean up graffiti.

Three students are painting over gang graffiti in neighborhoods given the rise of gang violence in the community. The students want to organize more paint-overs this summer to deter graffiti in the neighborhood. Community leaders want to get young people committed to the idea that he can go with them to ask the City Council to hire them as contracted workers for graffiti clean up.

Columbus has had a graffiti abatement program which started as a grant in 2012, but is now paid by the city. The city also has a 3-1-1 system to have a city contractor abate graffiti, although their services run only from June to September. Public records show that the city has spent $500,000 since 2012 on cleanup and there have been 77 arrests over the past 6 years.

The Mayor and City Council of Albuquerque proposed to add three more graffiti removal staff to the city’s 15-person clean-up crew, without costing taxpayers extra money. In 2015, the city averaged 50 calls for graffiti clean-up a day. So far in 2016, the daily average number of calls is about 70. Many of those calls are from their 311 service, and two-thirds are identified through patrolling. The city budget is expected to be voted on Monday night at City Council.

San Jose leaders have proposed a reward program for those who report graffiti vandals. Graffiti has increased in the city, and it is costing the city $1.3 million with a majority of funds going towards clean up. The City Council will also consider looking for funds to restore staffing levels to respond to graffiti.

The Graffiti Busters are a city-funded group of volunteers whose sole mission is to rid the streets of Flagstaff of graffiti. The small team was started in 2010, and is a part of the code compliance department of the city. Last year, the Graffiti Busters responded to about 1,000 reports of graffiti. So far this year, they've already reached that number of reports.

The city of Albuquerque, NM, is seeing an increase in tagging across the city, and clean-up crews are responding to 20+ calls per day. The clean-up crews average 73 clean-ups each day compared to approximately 53 last year. The city’s budget for graffiti cleanup is nearly $1.3 million.

The Pittsburgh Graffiti Busters, which is their Public Works crew, works around the city to remove graffiti vandalism. The downtown area has been tagged recently with at least 25 symbols being spray painted throughout downtown on Friday, March 18th within a 30 minute period.

The city of Phoenix spends about $2 million a year to clean up graffiti, and has a team of “graffiti busters” that coordinates graffiti removal. As part of Graffiti Free Awareness month, the city is encouraging residents to spread the word about the problems of graffiti and how to fight it. The city has a MyPhxAz app residents can use to report the location of graffiti. City officials regularly hold workshops to teach residents how to battle graffiti. And the department also will provide free paint and supplies to groups organizing community cleanups this month, according to the city.

In Spartanburg, police officers spent the day cleaning graffiti off of vacant buildings. And now, a restaurant owner in town is offering a special incentive—dinner for two--for tips leading to an arrest of graffiti vandals. Officials say after all of the time and effort that’s been invested in downtown Spartanburg making it a cleaner place, graffiti is the last thing they need popping up.

In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the implementation of CleaNYC, an effort to keep communities clean. This will include amping up the city’s Graffiti-Free NYC program, which removes graffiti from public and private structures. CleaNYC will cost $4.2 million in expense funds in FY 2017 and $2.5 million in capital funds.

Philadelphia, PA has seen an increase in graffiti in highly dangerous areas, including along the Schuylkill Expressway and along the Amtrak rail lines. The City has remained committed to keeping those areas graffiti free with its Anti-Graffiti Network which employs 11 crews to handle daily graffiti removal. Clearing graffiti along the train lines is no small task.

The City of Yakima has hired a full time worker to oversee the graffiti clean-up program, so that graffiti is cleaned up as quickly as possible. In 2015, the program cleaned up 7,726 graffiti spots in Yakima. The City also has volunteers to help with clean up—cleanup supplies are paid for with grants and the paint itself is donated.

All this year Detroit has been trying to crackdown on illegal graffiti and tagging. The city says roughly 700 properties have been cleaned in the last seven months including nearly 3,000 tags on electrical boxes and utility poles painted over. The city also is asking business owners with graffiti on their buildings to remove them within 14 days. The city says more than 16,000 tags have been removed since May. After the tags are coated for a day or two, you can see how quickly the paint is removed.

The town of Jackson Hole, WY is addressing graffiti abatement given that the most recent tagging of the START bus facility will cost $45,000 to clean up. While the town has already removed the graffiti images with a soda blaster, the additional cleanup costs include the cost of labor to repaint the building with a clear, anti-graffiti coating. The Town is hoping to catch the graffiti vandals so they can recoup some of these upcoming costs.

As part of Asheville’s 1-2-3 Graffiti Free program, city property owners with graffiti on their buildings can get it removed for free. This program is designed to help building owners by providing temporary relief—a city contractor will do a one time cleanup for each property that applies by September 30th and will cover costs up to $500. Through this program, over $80,000 in assistance has been given by the City. The city passed an ordinance last year mandating that property owners remove graffiti within seven days. Also, the North Carolina legislature stiffened penalties this year, making it a Class 1 demeanor and a third charge of graffiti vandalism is classified as a felony if there have been two or more prior convictions.

Data has shown that in 2014, clean up crews cleaned up 32.4 square feet of graffiti in Los Angeles, surpassing 120,000 reports of graffiti vandalism and spending $7 million per year. It is likely there will be even more reports by the end of 2015.

On August 20, the Kenner City Council voted to approve a graffiti removal ordinance. The ordinance makes property owners—businesses and homes—of vandalized property responsible for abatement within 30 days of receiving a notice from the city. The City Council is also working on a law that would require those convicted of certain crimes to remove graffiti from vandalized homes and businesses as a form of community service. The ordinances have come in response to a series of offensive graffiti being done throughout the city. The New Orleans Advocate

The City of Kalamazoo, Michigan has provided and distributed to residents targeted by graffiti vandalism with cleaning products in an effort to clean up the properties. The City is making these citizen kits available in neighborhood associations.

Adams County (which includes Denver) has started a “Greenfiti” program in order to beautiful neighborhoods and prevent graffiti vandalism. The county had previously purchased paint from “big box” stores for cleaning up graffiti, which was costing thousands of dollars. Through this project, the county now purchases repurposed paint from a local business, Repurposed Materials, for much less money and has been able to paint over 600 walls and fences tagged by graffiti this summer.

The Bay City Commission passed an ordinance focusing on graffiti abatement. The Commission had deferred the ordinance for several months to consider concerns with the amount of time property owners would have to clean up graffiti on their property. Under the ordinance, property owners have 10 days to remove graffiti after receiving a notice to abate. If the property owner is in violation, they are subject to civil fines. The City has the right to clean up the graffiti and recover costs from the property owner. The Commission added a section that offers financial relief to property owners through a hardship appeal.

The Town of Huntington, NY passed a graffiti ordinance that requires property owners to clean up graffiti on their property within 10 days, and if the graffiti is discriminatory, hateful or derogatory graffiti, within 3 days. Failure to abate within the prescribed time periods will result in a $250 fine. Also, the ordinance creates a list, or inventory, of “graffiti-blight property.” This list contains properties within the Town that failed to remove graffiti within 10 days (or 3 days if discriminatory graffiti) two or more times within the calendar year. Property owners with graffiti-blight property have to pay an annual registration fee after 30 days of notice: $5,000 for commercial property and $2,500 for residential property. Any surplus administrative or registration costs shall be allocated to the existing blight beautification fund with the intent of financing the Town’s revitalization and anti-graffiti efforts.

The City of Buffalo, NY has invested in a $1,200 power washer, and by the end of July, more than 1,300 pieces of graffiti have been removed from other buildings, stop signs, streets, bridges and overpasses. The power washer has been an effective abatement tool, particularly in areas where there is no readily available water.

On July 10, 2015, the Clute City Council passed an anti-graffiti ordinance aimed at cleaning up graffiti in the city. The ordinance designates unremoved graffiti as a public nuisance, prohibits property owners from letting graffiti remain on their property, and the property owner must either clean up the graffiti or may accept city’s offer to remove the graffiti at the owner’s expense. The time limit in which the owner must remove the graffiti will be specified in the notice given to the property owner by the city. The ordinance also penalizes parents, guardians, or gang leaders of minors who knowingly, intentionally, recklessly or with criminal negligence permit the minors to commit graffiti vandalism.

The Tucson City Council approved to increase its city budget to combat graffiti vandalism. The Council approved to double its current budget of $720,000 a year for its abatement program. Specifically, the City Manager asked for an additional $880,000 to go towards its clean-up program in order to pay for the city’s outside abatement contractor GPC Coatings, and potentially hire more staff and buy paint/supplies. Now, this new graffiti budget is approximately $1.8 million.

The first week of June marked the 1-year anniversary of Burlington, NC passing its graffiti abatement ordinance. Since the ordinance was passed, the City has indicate a decrease in graffiti vandalism. The Burlington Police Department’s gang task force has also been able to find and prosecute graffiti vandals more effectively.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced that the Department of Streets and Sanitation will respond to graffiti removal requests within 5 days or less. The Mayor also announced additional graffiti removal resources, enhancements in removal operations, and vandalism prevention. According to the City, “with rapid removal helping to deter graffiti vandalism, calls for service from residents have declined by 13 percent in 2015. Calls for graffiti removal services have decreased from 53,676 in the first five months of 2014 to 46,719 in the first five months of 2015.” Last year, the Mayor invested $1 million in additional funding for graffiti removal, and the City Council approved to increase graffiti vandalism fines.

The Worcester County sheriff’s department is using a new truck to remove graffiti on buildings. The trucks have a power wash-style unit that uses crushed nut shells to remove paint, and inmates also assist in the clean up efforts.

In Dayton, Ohio, the city’s graffiti task force and volunteers organized to clean up graffiti vandalism on vacant buildings. The volunteers also seal-coated a mural which would make graffiti easier to remove in the future.

Fort Worth’s graffiti abatement program has a team that cleaned up 3,844 locations last year and continues to clean up graffiti vandalism every day. The members encourage the public to help out by calling the police if they see graffiti and call the graffiti abatement program to report problems.

The City of Clawson passed an ordinance that would make graffiti vandalism a misdemeanor punishable by a $500 fine, and includes penalties like community service and restitution for the cost of cleanup. The ordinance also prohibits private property owners from leaving graffiti on their property for longer than 7 days from when they receive a notice to remove from the city.

The City of Clawson, MI passed an ordinance that makes graffiti a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $500 fine, community service if appropriate, and restitution of the cost of removal of the graffiti. The law also requires property owners to clean up graffiti on their property within 7 days if a notice is posted on the property, and 9 days if the notice is mailed.

In Springfield, MO, the Task Force on Gangs and Youth Violence as well as other organizations will coordinate to remove graffiti from homes and businesses free of charge on May 9. The purpose of the event is to clean up graffiti so it does not attract more vandalism.

On March 16, 2015, the city of Emmaus, Pennsylvania adopted a new ordinance seeking to combat graffiti vandalism. The provisions include banning the sale of aerosol spray paint to minors, imposing retailer restrictions for the storage of spray paint, and allowing borough officials to compel property owners to clean up graffiti on their property within 30 days. The ordinance also makes graffiti vandalism unlawful, as well as exposing individuals to risk of violence or hatred by the use of graffiti. The ordinance imposes a fine of up to $1,000 or up to 30 days imprisonment for violations of the ordinance.

The City of Wrightsville Beach, NC planning board voted unanimously to recommend amending its graffiti ordinance to declare graffiti a public nuisance, imposes criminal and civil penalties, and require property owners to clean up graffiti within 15 days of notification. The City’s Board of Alderman approved the proposal on April 8, 2015.

The City of Burien announced that its Taking Aim at Graffiti, or T.A.G., program will provide free graffiti removal products like paint and applicators to residential and commercial property owners who are victims are graffiti vandalism. Their program requires property owners to clean up graffiti within 5 days of a graffiti removal notice. To be eligible for the program, the property owner and tenant must sign a waiver authorizing the City to remove the graffiti and have a City of Burien business license.

The Oviedo City Council approved a new graffiti ordinance that criminalizes graffiti, prohibits minors from possessing graffiti implements on public or private property, highway, road, street or alley or any similar public place, and makes private property owners responsible for cleaning up graffiti vandalism within 3 days of notification. The city may also remove the graffiti and be reimbursed by the property owner.

The City of Warren, Ohio enacted an ordinance that requires property owners to clean up graffiti on their property within 5 days of notification from the City to remove. The City would be responsible for cleaning up graffiti on city property within 48 hours.

The City Commissioners of Kalamazoo, Michigan introduced amendments to its nuisance ordinance that would classify graffiti as a nuisance and authorize enforcement and graffiti removal when warranted. Making graffiti a nuisance will give inspectors the authority they need to enforce the 10- day removal period on property owners that refuse to remove graffiti from their property.

The County of Santa Clara passed an ordinance establishing a “Graffiti Clean Up Program” that includes community education regarding graffiti prevention, the administration of graffiti removal on public and private property, and enforcement of those requirements. The ordinance calls for homeowners and businesses to remove graffiti on their private property within 48 hours.

Asheville, NC passed an ordinance and began a summer initiative called 1-2-3 Graffiti Free so that private property owners can request that the City remove or paint over graffiti on their property if removal costs are less than $500. The initiative also increased civil penalties for perpetrators of graffiti vandalism.

On June 1, a new anti-graffiti ordinance in Burlington went into effect requiring property owners to remove graffiti, but property owners will receive a 90 day “educational period” before undergoing an abatement process. After the 90 day period, private property owners will have 10 days to remove graffiti on their property otherwise the City will seek compensation for clean up.

The City of Atwater, CA adopted an ordinance that requires property owners in “high target” areas to clean up graffiti on their private property within 3 days and non-high target areas in 5 days. If the property owner does not remove the graffiti, the city has the authority to clean the graffiti and send the bill to the property owner.

The Morehead City Council approved an ordinance amendment that would amend the law to treat graffiti vandalism as a public nuisance and require property owners to clean up graffiti on their property within 10 days.

The City Council of Holland passed ordinance giving property owners 5 days to clean up graffiti vandalism on their properties. The City would provide property owners with resources and contact information with a community group if the property owner would like assistance with the graffiti removal.

On April 1, 2014, a new ordinance came into effect in Indianapolis that requires property owners to pay for graffiti abatement on their own property within 30 days, otherwise they face a fine. The local community group Keep Indianapolis Beautiful has pledged to supply paint, brushes, rollers and volunteers to help property owners with clean up. These “graffiti abatement kits” are provided for free through KIB with the help of Lowe’s and Valspar.